


The Ties that Bind Us

by johnnian



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Mild Gore, Slow Burn, eyes emoji
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:47:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24580066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/johnnian/pseuds/johnnian
Summary: A man is accused of a horrible crime against the royal family, and is brought upon the court to be judged. The prince, Reed, believes he is innocent, but despite his protests, the man is set to be beheaded. Instead of relying upon the twisted justice system of the kingdom, he resolves to help the man himself.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 5





	1. thorns

**Author's Note:**

> hi welcome to like. my second post ever  
> this was co-written by someone who doesn't have an ao3 account!! i would just like u to know i didn't write this on my own ty  
> i really hope u guys like it!! i'm really excited to delve into this world with you guys weehoo

“The king is dead! He’s been shot!”

The shouts of the guards surrounded the carriage within a few seconds, the horses tacked at the front stopping abruptly enough that the entire thing lurched forward, sending Reed and his now deceased father’s body flying forward. Reed, unfortunately, landed in such a position where, while he was just barely realizing what happened, the king’s corpse landed right on top of him, knocking the wind from his lungs. His gaze slowly traveled upward, stopping at the bloodied arrow that was mere inches from between his eyes, sticking right out from the skull of the formerly very alive king. 

Guards’ yells and shouts drowned out into a dull ringing. A crimson liquid dripped from the arrow tip, pattering down onto the skin of Reed’s face. He lifted a hand to wipe the blood from his face. His father’s blood. The entire world seemed to fall away to the tune of his pounding heart, and once his gaze drifted back up to catch sight of the king’s glazed eyes, his face seeming just as calm and collected from when they were having a conversation about the weather not a few minutes earlier, Reed’s pulse caught in his throat.

Reed was frozen in shock as the carriage doors ripped open, the guards flooding in and pulling him out from under the king’s body. He just stared, unable to do or say anything other than gape as the guards hurried over to the corpse of the King. Who would have done such a thing? The guards spoke in hushed tones- an assailant with fire-red hair was seen leaving the area through the trees. When Reed finally found his voice, he immediately ordered the assassin to be followed. 

Half of the guards scurried off to find the person who’d shot his father, disappearing into the forest in the same direction of the murderer. The other half ushered Reed back into the carriage, despite the fact that he had just barely processed what had happened. The seat where his father had sat was coated in blood, his face and hands smeared in the same substance. He sat back, looking out the window, which now had a splintering hole. The guards handled the King’s body with care, wrapping him up in sheets and putting him in the back. Reed didn’t see it, but he could feel the weight being put down into the back, the carriage sinking in time with his stomach.

They started the journey to the palace, the muffled conversation of the guards discussing how to break the news to the queen. Reed knew his mother would be absolutely torn apart hearing this. His stomach sunk even more when the guards had decided that Reed himself would be the one who would have to tell her. A guard poked his head in to tell him, and Reed quickly dismissed him with a very curt “I already heard you”, already trying to piece the words together in the gentlest way possible. He found this extremely difficult, as the image of his dead father’s face continued to invade his thoughts and he barely realized when they were back home. He had to be jostled back to reality by a guard shaking him by the shoulder. 

Needless to say, the queen didn’t take well at all to the news. Nor did his brother, Leif, who seemed shocked that Reed didn’t seem to show any emotion to it. Truth was, the moment he processed the fact that his father was dead, he just felt… numb. He wanted to cry, scream, and all of that, but he couldn’t. Seeing it right in front of his face, watching as his father’s life was stolen from him in one fell swoop, it just… felt so much different than when he was told of his grandfather’s death a few years prior. It was kind of like breaking a bone; stinging so terribly at first, but then it became numb and unmovable. 

No sooner had the Queen gone into hysterics did the guardsmen arrive through the throne room doors, shoving along a man with untamed, fire-red hair. He was bruised, bloodied, and still putting up a fight as he was shoved to his knees.before the royal family. Reed turned to look at the man. He matched the description of having ‘fire-red’ hair, though Reed himself thought it was far more of a bright raspberry, and he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would conduct a secret attack on the king. He seemed far too violent to be a silent, stealthy assassin. The guards had described the figure they’d seen as much smaller than this man, as well as the fact that there was no way that he could have changed from a black suit into hunting gear in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, Reed was insanely skeptical that this man was the one who killed his father. He was sure his mother would be, too. 

Though, to Reed’s surprise, his mother’s sobs quickly turned to pure wrath. She pointed an accusatory finger at the captive, her expression twisted into something her children had never once seen in her presence. “Is this the man who killed my husband?” 

There was a matter-of-fact “Yes,” from a few of the guards, and soon the Queen was unleashing every ounce of grief turned hatred upon the kneeling man.

“How dare you!” 

“I didn’t kill your goddamn King!” Protested the man.

“Silence! No amount of excuses will save you from your punishment!”

“Wait a second!” Reed objected. “There’s no way that this man was the one who did it!”

The Queen turned to Reed, the depths of her pupils ablaze with fury. “I said silence! My guards are the finest in the kingdom. If this is who they say killed my husband, then it is!”

“Your guards didn’t go to the finest school in the country, did they?” The prince continued to protest. “The only thing we have to go off of is hair color and the killer’s figure.”

“They are trained to track down any who do wrong. You dare doubt them?”

“They didn’t watch the king die before their very eyes! The person was described as-”

The Queen cut Reed off, waving her hand across the tense air. “I said, SILENCE! You will not disobey me! Guards, take Reed to his room, and as for this murderer, I want his head as soon as possible. Gather the kingdom. They will witness what these criminals achieve of their crimes.”

“No! You’re not listening to me, mother!” Reed yelled, his own anger starting to boil over. “This isn’t justice! It’s the murder of an innocent man!” He screamed as guards grabbed him by either arm, roughly dragging him up to his bedroom while he kicked and fought against their grip. The last thing he heard was the voice of the wronged man claiming his innocence, only to be sharply cut off. By what, he’d never know, as the door was closed and locked behind him.


	2. soil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reed pays the prisoner a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we wrote a whole new chapter in a day!! i know u guys didn't ask but lol here u go  
> before you go into this again you should know that the bankheads are VERY heavily scottish and also reed picks up commoner lingo from going into town

Reed spent most of his time after being locked in his room banging at the door and trying to pick the lock. He wasn’t too strong in terms of brute strength, and of course his mother had enchanted the door, so there was no way he was getting out. He cursed, which his mother would consider not a prince-ly thing to do, but he was just so enraged at his mother for making such an unjust decision, which was too heavily influenced by her grief to be considered rational. 

He gave up as the sun began to set, and just sat on his floor, unsure of what to do next. If he wasn’t able to save the man in the courtroom… maybe he could intervene in some other way. Surely he would be able to set the man free somehow. 

So, he collected every ugly, frilly, stupidly expensive item of clothing, sheet, quilt, or any sort of cloth he could find. Tearing them all up wasn’t really easy, but once he finally had torn everything up, he tied each piece to the other. Soon enough he’d made some kind of rope, and after ensuring he had enough length to reach the ground, he tied it securely to one of his bed posts.

Before he began the climb down, he pulled out a little burlap sack with some biscuits and jerky and other various snacks Reed had stolen from the palace’s kitchen. He stuffed some of the food into his pockets and started climbing down his makeshift rope.

Apparently, he hadn’t tied some of the knots securely enough, because once he made it halfway down, the knots undid themselves and before he knew it he was falling ass-first into a rosebush. Unable to find anything to catch himself, he was met with a flurry of sharp, pointed thorns to every exposed surface. It caught on his clothes and scraped up his skin, but still Reed was determined to finish this endeavour. He hauled himself out of the bush and onto steady ground, yanking his arm to free a snagged sleeve. 

As he made his way to the prison, which was more of a dungeon because it was mostly underground and on the palace’s property, Reed began to regret not bringing a lantern with him. He tripped on several things, most of which he was unable to locate even after he’d tripped over them, and ended up with scrapes on his palms and knees. Still, he kept going.

He found the entrance, which was poorly guarded by a sleeping man in knight’s getup, leaning on a spear that was dangerously close to his face. Recognizing him as one of the men who had beaten the accused man and dragged him into the courtroom, Reed was almost tempted to push the man’s head down onto the spear. Realizing what he was thinking about, he shook his head to dismiss the thought and took one of the lanterns that hung outside the entrance.

He spotted the keyring hanging at the same guard’s side, and debated taking it with him and freeing the innocent man from his cell. He could free the man that night and see him off, but with his outburst earlier in the courtroom, it would be all too obvious that Reed was the one who had freed him. Maybe he would just wait a few more nights.

The prison was like some kind of maze by design. A purposefully built labyrinth so any who managed to escape through the iron bars would have no choice but to get lost among the dimly lit corridors. Moss clung to the stone walls where small holes for air were pierced, lapping up as much sunlight as such tiny openings permitted the greenery. The air was thick and damp. Every breath felt heavy in Reed’s lungs. The bars of the cells themselves seemed weathered, though they remained sturdy, as a hard tug on a few of them proved. 

Eventually Reed came upon an occupied cell. He peered in. Relief washed over him when the lantern illuminated the figure of a man with raspberry red hair. He looked to be in even worse shape than he had been in the throne room. Dried streaks of blood ran down his face and across fresh, reddened bruises. The man’s hands were bound behind his back, wrists rubbed raw by his struggles, and his head hung towards the hard stone floor of his completely empty prison cell.

Reed whispered a “Hey,” to get the man’s attention. His head snapped upwards towards him, and he bared his sharpened teeth at Reed until a look of realization crossed his face.

Reed crouched down, grossed out by the dirtiness of the floor, but figured that his clothes were ruined anyway so there was not much use trying to avoid the dirty, slimy floor of the prison. He sat himself down, setting the lantern to his side. 

“So,” he said, his tone hushed, his worried, emerald green eyes glancing around the cell and his face scrunching up at the filth and squalor that this man had to stay in. “..I’m Reed.” Obviously, everyone knew who he was, but he figured he should establish now that he doesn’t want the man to be formal with him. 

“No shit you’re Reed. You think I don’t know that? Of course I know you. You’re the big shot prince with a sunset for hair,” Spat the man in the cell, “Why are you here? Come to gawk at me like everyone else?”

“No, no, of course not. I’m here to help you,” Reed said with a shake of his head. 

The man seemed to stall. His eyes went wide. “You- are?”

Reed nodded. “I don’t think you’re the one that killed the king.”

“...Right. Except I match the description perfectly, for fuck’s sake. Everyone else seems to be convinced. What makes you so special?” 

“Not perfectly. For one, it was a stealth attack. You seem far too.. Er… violent to do something in secret like that.” Reed paused. “No offense,” he added.

“That’s a compliment.”

Reed chuckled a little, but quickly became serious once more. “On top of that, the person was described as having a thinner figure,” The prince muttered, glancing over the man’s broad shoulders. “You don’t look like that at all.”

“I should hope so. I hunt for a living. Hunted. Your mom’s got me tied up in a cell and sentenced to death by the end of the week.” 

“Don’t worry. You won’t be dead at the end of the week, I promise.”

“Yeah? What the hell do you mean by that?” 

“I’m gonna bust you out of here, dumbass,” He said very matter-of-factly.

“Okay, then get me out of here. You got the keys?” 

“I’m not busting you out tonight. It would be too obvious that it was me.”

The man scowled. “So you’re going to leave me here for a few days? Look at this place, you goddamn bastard! I don’t even have a fucking bed!” 

“Hey, be grateful I’m busting you out of here in the first place, asshole,” Reed scoffed. “You haven’t been fed at all, have you?”

“No. I sure fucking haven’t.” The man grumbled something under his breath, presumably in another language, before he seemed to settle down a miniscule amount. Reed wondered if this guy could settle down. 

Reed nodded. They always treated people who were set for execution this way. “I figured. Here.” Reed dug into his pockets, pulling out the biscuits and jerky he’d brought for the man. He realized that there was no way that the man could feed himself and he wouldn’t be able to untie the bounds on his wrists. “Just don’t bite me,” He said, worried about the sharpness of this guy’s teeth. He stuck his hand with some of the food on it through the bars and held it out to him.

The man blinked a couple of times, then leaned forward and took the piece of jerky between his sharpened teeth and gobbled it down without hesitation. Reed continued to feed him more pieces of jerky and half-crumbled biscuits that were smushed from his fall. “So, what’s your name? I never caught it,” Reed asked.

Through a full mouth, the man simply replied with “Mawru.”

“Mawru? That’s a foreign name if I’ve ever heard one.”

“I came from one of the islands to the south.” 

“Ah, I see. What made you come up north?”

Mawru took another piece of biscuit from Reed’s hand and practically inhaled the thing. “My parents were assholes, so I left.” 

“Ha. I can relate to the ‘asshole parents’ thing. All they wanna do is marry some girl off to me just ‘cause I’m the oldest. I’ll have to be stuck in a loveless marriage just to rule some shitty kingdom that I don’t even want to live in anymore,” Reed grumbled, holding out the last of the food to Mawru.

“Sounds shitty. I think I’d rather get my head chopped off than have to go through that.”

“It’s really shitty. I would, too. I’ve tried to get my mother to pass on the duty to Leif, but she’s said ‘no’ every time.”

“Leif?” Mawru tilted his head, eating the last pieces of jerky from Reed’s hand. “Isn’t he your brother or something?”

Reed nodded. “He’s my younger brother.”

“Good fucking luck.” Mawru shrugged.

Just as Reed was about to say something else, he saw the light of another lantern coming up the hallway. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath. “I’ll be back here tomorrow, yeah?” he said, scrambling to his feet and blowing out the flame of the lantern.

Mawru’s face fell when he turned his head towards the distant light. “Fuck, yeah. You better come back here.” 

“I will, don’t worry.” 

Reed made his way out of the prison, his footsteps getting fainter as the lantern light came closer to Mawru’s cell. While distant, he could hear Mawru insulting the guard. Reed grinned at that. All of the guards were pigs, and he completely agreed with Mawru’s exclamation of “Eat shit and live, asshole!”. 

Reed made his way back through the night into the courtyard. He realized that, after his “rope” had fallen apart, he had no way to get back in. That meant he would have to have someone let him in. He groaned, shuffling to the window of his brother, Leif, and picking up a small stone. He tossed the stone, hitting the window with a clunk sound. When that didn’t work, he picked up yet another stone and did the same thing.

Eventually, the window opened, however a rock was already en route up there. It hit poor Leif in the nose, causing him to cry out and reel backwards. Realizing what he had done, Reed whisper-shouted a “Sorry!” to him. Leif rubbed his nose and shook his head, closing the window as he disappeared from view. Reed jogged over to one of the smaller, more secluded back doors, which his brother unlocked and swung open for him.

“Thanks, man. Sorry about the rock.” Reed apologized, grinning sheepishly at him.

Leif gave his nose another rub. “As long as my nose isn’t broken, I forgive you.” 

Reed let out a relieved sigh, giving his younger brother a pat on the shoulder. “Aw, shit, did you get taller? Again!?” He groaned. “If you grow any taller you’re going to be double my size! How come you got all the tall genes?” He complained. Reed was stuck at a 5’7” while his brother got to be past six-and-a-half feet, and getting taller. It was always something he’d be teased about, but Leif would always be met with a punch to the shoulder every time he said something like that.

“I guess I just got lucky. Unlike a certain brother of mine,” Leif laughed, reaching out to ruffle Reed’s long, brunette to blonde ombre hair. There was a sun-lit orange between the brown and the blond, which Leif often said he was envious of, so certainly Reed had to be lucky in some regard. Reed responded to the ruffling by swatting at Leif’s hand. 

“Oh, fuck off!” He said with a laugh, “At least I can still fit under the kitchen’s doorway.”  
“I can fit!” Leif protested, “I just have to duck.”

“You can’t fit without ducking.” Reed chuckled “Right. I think it’s about time we got to bed. Looks like I interrupted someone’s beauty sleep.” And that he did. Leif looked like he had just risen from the grave. 

“You’ve been up all night writing again, haven’t you? Writing stories or writing to a special someone? I’ve noticed a surplus of letters leaving the palace lately,” Reed teased with a big grin.

Leif scratched his beard with his own sheepish smile. “Stories?” 

“Bullshit. Who is it?” 

“That’s a secret.” 

Reed pouted. “I should get to know who my future sister-in-law will be!”

Leif chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. “Alright, secret’s out. I write for the local news source.”

Reed blinked, and then stifled a laugh with his hand. “You? A news reporter? That’s.. I never expected that. So that’s why all the news from the castle has been getting out lately?”

His brother nodded. “It’s a lucrative job. You know how mom won’t give us any money? I need to make my own somehow.” 

“Oh, trust me, I’ve been picking up odd jobs since you were seven. I know how you feel.”

“At least someone does,” Leif yawned, covering his mouth with the back of a hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Reed.”

“Aye, goodnight, Leif.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's longer! wahoo!! mawru is a feral baby man give him a hug


	3. seeds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reed visits Mawru for the second night in a row.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up to my one (1) reader sorry i haven't posted for like ten years lmao  
> not me realizing that i forgot the exposition and had to tell my co-author that i forgot so i put it in this chapter like a bunch lmao  
> thanks to those who do read this tho lmao

Soon the morning came, and as the sun rose so did Reed. He rolled out of bed, his coiled locks falling over his face. As he got up and changed into his clothes for the day, he pulled half of his long hair into a bun, letting the rest fall down his back. Even if the royal family woke early, the servants always woke earlier. From his third-story bedroom he could already smell what the cooks made for breakfast, the scent of sausage and gravy making him realize how hungry he really was. So, he trudged down the marble stairs of the castle and joined the rest of his family in the dining room. 

The seat at the head of the table was empty. His mother sat at one end and Reed sat on the long side, his brother on the side parallel. The head seat was where his father had sat, and where just the morning before he was sat and discussing the day’s plans with his family. Now, instead of the glowy, morning feel of the family chatting amongst themselves and waking up refreshed was replaced with a dull silence, which pierced Reed’s eardrums more than the shrill shriek of a chinstrap bellbird. He silently took his seat and glanced over at the sullen, solemn face of his mother. How it pained him to see all the life sucked from the whole castle in just a day. He was sure the citizens were mourning him just as much, as the king was loved throughout the entire kingdom and even past the stone walls of the city. 

Suddenly he wasn’t very hungry anymore. Mawru seems like he’d want this, Reed thought, picking at was left after he ate a little off his plate. 

Reed was right, because as he snuck through his bedroom window the second night-- with a much better rope this time-- and to the scarcely guarded prison cell of Mawru, who was basically foaming at the mouth because he could smell the sausage and gravy and biscuits from the moment Reed stepped foot in the prison. 

Reed put his lantern to Mawru’s cell, relaxing when he spotted the raspberry red, spiky hair that was about as long as Mawru was tall. He seemed to be in a worse state than yesterday, getting dirtier and seeming much more in pain than he was yesterday. He was beaten again, Reed knew. The guards liked to play their sick games with the prisoners. 

Reed sat in front of the cell, as he had the night before, setting the lantern down so it illuminated the both of them. Instead of drawing attention to the fresh bruises and cuts across Mawru’s olive skin, he started untying the knot on the sack of food he’d brought this time. Reed couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain he must be feeling. 

“First thing we do once you’re out of here is get you a new pair of pants,” Reed said with a hum. “They’re already torn up.” Reed reached into the bag, taking out a biscuit and sliding his hand between the metal bars for Mawru to eat from. 

“At this point I’ll take anything as long as it isn’t these,” Mawru snarled, taking the biscuit between his pointed teeth and scarfing it down. Reed took out the next one, doing the same thing as the first time. 

“Well, lucky you, you’ll be getting some new ones,” Reed said, offering a smile that made him look like a frog. 

“They better not be that frilly shit.”

“God, even I’m tired of the frilly shit.”

“You royals are always completely dressed up, from head to toe, in the most arrogant, frilly, eye-burning fabrics. Flaunting your wealth around because you own the place.”

Reed had to agree. The point of their castle, their clothes, extravagant parties was to flaunt the family’s wealth. “I can’t say that I haven’t ‘flaunted my wealth’ before. There’s not much I can say other than that’s what they- what we’ve done for centuries.”

“Hell, you’re flaunting your wealth through your hair whether you like it or not. Why’s your whole family so fucking pretty, anyways? Do you choose your partners based on their looks?” 

His hair was his pride. Reed ran his fingers through the curls subconsciously. If there was anything Reed tended to more than the flowers on the balcony, it was his brown-to-blonde ombre hair. “I… can’t choose my partners. I’m going to get married off to some girl overseas and not be able to speak a word of the language she knows and be stuck in this cursed castle until I get assassinated like my father was.” 

“Yeah, you’ve got that shit to deal with, you told me,” Mawru said, pushing Reed’s hand out from between the cell bars with his nose. “What, are you the type of guy who wants to go out and explore the world? Leave the comfort of your castle? Potentially get accused of murder with your ass landed in a cell and your head destined for a basket?” 

“Hell, if it’s more exciting than this, I’ll take my head in a basket any day,” he said with a sigh, getting a sausage link out from the bag. It was cold, but it was still food, and that was better than what Mawru was getting here, which he was sure was little to nothing. “I don’t want the pressure of being king, either.”

“I’d take my head in a basket over the life you’re living, too,” Mawru admitted, shifting forward and eyeing the link of sausage. “But my life was just fine. Better than being married off to some girl, at least.”

Reed fed the sausage link to him. He was careful to let go before Mawru’s sharpened teeth nicked his fingers. “What I’d give to be a hunter,” He said, sighing dreamily. “Maybe then I’d have some kind of agency.” Reed glanced in the direction he came from. “For now, though, let’s focus on getting you out of here. I can talk to my brother- I’m sure he’s got some ideas. He’s the smart one.” 

“Good luck with that,” Mawru spoke simply, devouring the sausage just as he had the biscuit. “It’s still not easy being a hunter. I hope your brother isn’t the type to rat you out about your plans.”

“Leif wouldn’t do that. He’s on my side, and, even if he was, he’s too much of a pussy sometimes to go about it.” 

Mawru laughed- well, it was really more of a cackle. It was the first time Reed had heard anything other than aggression from the hunter. It was a nice relief to find that Mawru could feel more than rage. “So he’s the cowardly type?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Reed replied with a nod. “He’s kind of the guy who prefers to work behind the scenes than make one. He’s actually writing for the local news, and I didn’t find out about it until yesterday night.” 

“How long has he been writing for it?”

“Hell if I know.”

“Then he’s good at keeping secrets. Good enough for me.”

Reed let out a laugh of his own. “He’s good at that. I’m pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.”

Before Mawru could say anything more, though, the sound of footsteps echoing down the halls sounded Reed’s cue to leave. He’d fed Mawru all he had brought that night, so he picked his lantern up and got to his feet. “I’ll be here tomorrow night,” he said simply, before blowing the flame in the lantern out and leaving Mawru to himself for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was!!! painfully short!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for the shortness lmao  
> comments and critiques and kudos are all appreciated <3


End file.
